The present invention relates to coupon dispensing machines and coin sorting machines.
There are a variety of machines which dispense stamps, tickets, coupons, money orders, bank transactions or the like. One type of machine, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,848 to Raymond Stoken, dispenses coupons in exchange for money. A display area indicates the different coupons available as well as the specific amount of money required to obtain each particular coupon. Money is inserted into the machine via a coin slot. Control circuitry determines which coupon has been selected, the amount of money required to purchase this coupon, and if the correct amount of money has been inserted into the coin slot. The control circuitry then causes the coupon dispenser to dispense the requested coupon.
Other machines dispense other types of products. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,967 to Lawrence Smith is a money order dispensing machine. This machine is meant to be operated by a system operator, not a customer, and therefore does not require the capability to receive money. The machine prints money orders on a dot matrix printer after receiving the necessary data inputs from the operator.
Such previous devices are deficient from the point of view of a consumer with an arbitrary amount of coins, since they require the input of an exact coin value. Further, the device requires a mechanism for determining if the required amount has been deposited and for taking an appropriate action depending on whether the required amount is deposited.
A different variety of machines has been patented which sort coins. One such machine, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,848 to David Goh uses two methods to sort coins, both methods based on the diameter of the coins. In this machine the coins are loaded into a hopper. A rotating wheel feeds the coins individually onto an inclined ramp. The coins roll down the ramp with their rear surfaces resting against a support surface. Specific denominations are selected when they fall through slots of varying size located in the support surface. Specific denominations are also selected using peeler knives which are arranged at different distances from the ramp surface. These knives topple the coins from the ramp into bins. Using both techniques allows a short ramp to be employed. Another type of machine shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,122 to Yoshio Kinoshita counts the number of coins according to denomination after sorting the coins.
Devices intended for counting/sorting coins are deficient in that the monetary value remains based in the coins, i.e., there is no transfer of the value from the medium of coins to a more convenient form such as a paper form.
Furthermore, a number of counting and sorting devices are deficient for certain other reasons. Many devices, while having some form of waste control device, have been unsuccessful in completely-controlling waste which may be mixed in with coins. As a result, many previous devices are only suitable for operation by an experienced or skilled operator and are not suitable for use by the general public who may be less careful about including foreign or waste material among coins. In particular, many previous devices were designed to admit coins into the counting device at such a rate that it was not possible for each coin to be individually exposed to the waste control device, i.e., such that some coins may block others from the waste control system.
Some counting/sorting devices have had complicated or ineffective control of the flow of coins so that it was difficult, or expensive to prevent unacceptably high surges of coin flow from jamming or otherwise overwhelming the sorting/counting mechanism. Some devices were designed to permit only a slow entry of coins into the counting/sorting mechanism but, in some cases, this was done at the expense of the ability to accommodate a high volume of coins and/or has resulted in unacceptably slow operation.
Many previous devices have been designed with insufficient accommodation for maintenance and/or cleaning so that it was difficult or impossible to adequately clean, maintain and/or upgrade such previous devices.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a device which receives an arbitrary amount of coins, i.e., which does not require insertion of an exact minimum amount and which converts the value of the coin from the inconvenient medium of coins to a more convenient medium. It would be further advantageous to provide a device which provides for effective and efficient waste management such that the device can be used by the ordinary consumer without resulting in jamming or damage of the machine. It would also be advantageous to provide for a device which accommodates a high volume or flow of coins without permitting surges of coin flow which can interfere with the counting/sorting and/or waste management systems, without complicated electro/mechanical machinery and, preferably, taking advantage of a gravity mechanism. It would also be useful to provide a device which efficiently and conveniently provides the sorted coins in a standard sized coin bag which is conveniently accessible.